LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION urging President Barack Obama and the members of
the New York State Congressional delegation to commemorate the 17th
Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi, on
April 7, 2011

WHEREAS, This Legislative Resolution arises from a sense of human decen-
cy and respect for the people of Rwanda and their Nation; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to urge President
Barack Obama and the members of the New York State Congressional deleg-
ation to commemorate the 17th Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide perpe-
trated against the Tutsi, on April 7, 2011; and
WHEREAS, The Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi was the mass murder of
people in the small East African nation of Rwanda over the course of
approximately 100 days after the assassination of the then President
Juvenal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994; and
WHEREAS, Rwanda existed, for centuries, as a centralized monarchy
under a succession of Tutsi Kings from one clan, ruling a population of
Hutu and Tutsi living in symbiotic harmony; and
WHEREAS, The "Revolution" of 1959 targeted the Tutsi in an indiscrimi-
nate manner, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths and sending masses
into exile; and
WHEREAS, The First Republic under President Gregoire Kayibanda and the
Second Republic, under President Juvenal Habyarimana, institutionalized
discrimination against the Tutsi and subjected them to periodic massa-
cres; and
WHEREAS, On October 1, 1990, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a
rebel group composed mostly of Tutsi refugees, launched an armed liber-
ation struggle for democracy and for the right of refugees to return to
their motherland; in response, the Government Army and militias launched
massacres against the Tutsi in various parts of the country; and
WHEREAS, International pressure on the Government of Juvenal Habyari-
mana resulted in the Arusha Peace Accords in August 1993: his assassi-
nation in April 1994 was the pretext for a genocide perpetrated against
the Tutsi and moderate Hutu, planned by Hutu extremists from the ruling
party MRND, particularly, Akazu, inner circle of President Habyarimana;
and
WHEREAS, The execution of the genocide was supported and coordinated
by the national government as well as by local military and civil offi-
cials and mass media, particularly by the Radio Television des Mille
Collins (RTLM); and
WHEREAS, In response to the killings, the RPF restarted its offensive,
eventually defeating the genocidaire government, stopping the genocide,
and embarking the country on the path of post-conflict recovery, justice
reconciliation and economic growth; and
WHEREAS, The International Panel of Eminent Personalities to Investi-
gate the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda and Surrounding Events was convened by
the Organization of African Unity and issued a report on July 7, 2000,
with recommendations including the substantial re-examination of the
1948 Geneva Convention on Genocide; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body recognizes the anniversary of this
horrific event and urges all New Yorkers and the international community
as a whole to act with a sense of urgency in condemning such atrocities
and preventing crimes against humanity like this from ever happening
again; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
urge President Barack Obama and the members of the New York State
Congressional delegation to commemorate the 17th Anniversary of the

Rwandan Genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi, on April 7, 2011; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause further in its deliber-
ations to honor and remember the victims of the Rwandan Genocide; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to President Barack Obama, and to each member of the Congres-
sional delegation from the State of New York.